In August 2013, the Republican National Committee launched its Rising Stars program, introducing Garcia and three other Republicans as "the future of our party." The program was designed to prominently feature the four young politicians on GOP.com and give a national platform to share their unique perspectives.[1][2]

Biography

Garcia earned her B.A. from Tufts University, B.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music and M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Her professional experience includes working in business development, strategic account management, and higher education consulting, as well as teaching harp at Phillips Exeter Academy and St. Paul's School and Gordon College.[4][5]

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Garcia served on the following committees:

Issues

Quality, Affordable Healthcare Choices: "Instead of top-down solutions, in which politicians, bureaucrats and insurance executives are in charge of our decision-making, we should promote bottom-up solutions in which consumers make decisions for themselves."

End Deficit Spending: "Reforming our budget and ending the deficit will require leadership and tough decisions. As a member of the state Finance Committee, I helped lead efforts to balance the New Hampshire budget without raising taxes in response to an historic $800 million hole in our state budget. Instead of playing games with the numbers, we acted responsibly. By finding efficiencies and cutting spending, we not only succeeded in passing a balanced budget, New Hampshire now enjoys a budget surplus. I will support the same commonsense approach to budgeting in Congress."

Environmental Stewardship: "Conservatives must reclaim our tradition as trusted environmental stewards. Common-sense environmental protections, such as promoting the conservation of open space, scenic vistas and historic landscapes is a non-partisan approach to ensuring we maintain the beautiful aesthetic environment that makes New Hampshire unique. We have a responsibility to our home and future generations to effectively manage our public lands, our wildlife and our air and our water."

Strengthening our Immigration System: "The immigration issue is deeply personal for me: my mother is Italian-American and my father Spanish-American. America is a welcoming country that has always found its identity as a nation of immigrants. We must ensure our policies always communicate a respect for diversity and appreciation for the contribution immigrants have made to our country. I believe that our immigration system makes it too complicated to stay here legally and too easy to stay illegally. To this end, we have a duty to strengthen border security not only to prevent further illegal immigration, but also to protect the homeland against foreign terrorist threats. Politicians and political parties using immigration as a wedge issue make it more difficult to find common ground. Immigration is central to who we are as a nation; working for pragmatic solutions that respect our laws and our traditions should be applauded."

Strong Families, Strong Nation: "I believe in the Culture of Life. Every person is infused with human dignity, regardless of race, creed, gender, nationality, or economic status. I am consistently pro-life, and believe states have a role in enacting policies that respect human life and decrease the abortion rate. I oppose federal taxpayer funding of abortion. The economic strength of our nation is dependent upon the social stability of our families. I support efforts that strengthen community and family traditions, and engender religious freedoms. I oppose efforts to displace family, community and charitable support structures with government programs."

Protect the Second Amendment: "I am a strong backer of the Constitution's Second Amendment, and will oppose efforts to impose new gun controls. In my seven years in the New Hampshire Legislature, I have received an A rating from the National Rifle Association. "

An Education Our Children Deserve: "Each family should be able to send their child to the school that best meets their needs. I believe in the 'all-of-the-above' approach to education; a strong education system that meets the unique needs of each child requires the support of the local public schools, charter schools, homeschool communities and parochial and all independent schools."

Energy Policies That Work: " My top priority is opposing any new energy taxes, such as the Cap-and-Trade tax or the plethora of new taxes and regulatory burdens associated with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). I oppose the cap-and-trade energy tax. Second, we can positively impact energy prices by pursuing a smart energy policy. I support policies that would increase domestic energy exploration and production, increase our refinement capacity and build more efficient energy transport systems, such as the long-overdue Keystone XL Pipeline. These policies would reduce the cost of energy, reduce our dependency on foreign oil and create new, good-paying American manufacturing jobs."

Support Our Allies in the Middle East: "America has no greater ally in the Middle East than Israel. Unlike any other nation in the region, with Israel we share a commitment to individual rights, religious tolerance and representative democracy. That is why we must emphasize our commitment to Israel as we continue to face common threats, such as a nuclear-ambitious Iran and global terrorism."

Elections

2014

Garcia ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent New Hampshire's2nd District. Garcia sought the Republican nomination in the primary on September 9, 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014. The winner of the Republican primary will face incumbent Democrat Ann McLane Kuster in the November general election.

Media

The Washington Post interviews Garcia, who could be one of the youngest members of Congress if she wins.[7]

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Rockingham 4 Republican Primary (2010)

Candidates

Votes

Dennis Fields (R)

2,536

Mary Griffin (R)

2,364

Charles McMahon (R)

2,129

Marilinda Garcia (R)

1,991

Kevin Waterhouse (R)

1,914

John Sytek (R)

1,845

David Bates (R)

1,835

Walter Kolodziej (R)

1,776

Ronald Belanger (R)

1,678

Robert Elliott (R)

1,680

Richard Okerman (R)

1.613

Gary Azarian (R)

1,504

Donna Mauro (R)

1.483

Russell Ingram (R)

1,460

Bruce Breton (R)

1,448

Anthony DiFruscia (R)

1,388

Margaret Crisler (R)

1,286

Mark Samsel (R)

1,246

Bob Stanley (R)

1,165

John Manning (R)

1,170

Mark Larochelle (R)

934

Special election 2009

On April 28, 2009, Garcia won election to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Rockingham County District 4 by winning a special election against Sheila Murray (D). Garcia received 2,050 votes, while Murray only received 1,250.[12]